Welcome to the Game
by NinjaMonkeyGirl2013
Summary: The Program is a game system designed to allow anyone to enter a fictional universe and play as one of the characters or design a character to play through the story. Rule 1: You can only make one character at a time. Rule 2: You cannot create two save files at once. Rule 3: You cannot create a crossover between two fictional worlds. two fictional worlds. So, welcome to the game.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer: I don't own Kingdom Hearts or its characters. If I did, well, let's just say this game would be Rated T instead of E. I just own my OC's, the plot, and the Program.**

**A/N: Okay, talking about the Program really quick, if you think I stole it from something, please tell me in a PM and DO NOT review me about it. The information I want you to disclose in the PM would be: the story I might have gotten the Program from and who wrote it or made it. I will then put a disclaimer about it.**

**Anyway, official stuff over, I really hope you guys like this story! Because this is my fourth rewrite of it! Enjoy!**

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Chapter 1

The Day (Before) My Life Changed

Liz's POV

I'm just going to say this ahead of time: I swear to God I didn't do it. This time.

Okay, now that that's out of the way, let's get on with the story.

"Elizabeth Katherine Hamilton, get your ass down here!" a shrill voice interrupted me from my much-needed slumber. I groaned in response.

You know how most people have an alarm clock? I have my sister. Somehow, I managed to force my head up from the pillow and look at the clock. 8:54. I groaned and my head plummeted back into the pillow. It should be a crime to get up this early during summer vacation. I could hear the stomps coming up the stairs, but I didn't bother moving. I moved when a bucket of ice cold water splashed onto me. I knew it was coming, but that didn't stop me from getting pissed off.

"What the hell was that for?!" I cried as I rose up from my bed.

"Good. You're up," Tori said with a cheeky grin. I glared at her hatefully. "Get ready, Will's visiting today."

That's when I shot up like a rocket and hit the shower. How the hell could I forget about Will, my own brother, visiting from college? The minute I finished my five minute shower, I ran around my messy (using the word VERY lightly in this case) room to find half-decent clothes. Finally, I managed to dig up a somewhat clean shirt and a pair of old jeans. I looked to Tori again who shrugged in approval. I ran out the room and slid down the railing downstairs where my mother was waiting.

"Good, you're finally up. I'm sure you've been keeping Will waiting," Mom said.

"Don't bother trying to reprimand her, mother. She'll just do it again," Tori said at the end of the staircase. She was always so official and uptight, never bothered acting relaxed at home.

"Well, I'm awake and fully energized, so let's get going! Oh, and—" I started, reaching for the keys. But Tori grabbed them before I could.

"No, you will not be driving."

"What? C'mon, I have my permit and a license!"

"For a motorcycle, you still have yet to practice your driving on an actual car."

"And that's why I wanna try out on picking up our dear brother."

"No." Without another word, she handed the keys to Mom. I pouted, but I did get to ride shotgun as a consolation prize at least.

I should probably explain my family a little bit otherwise you'll be really confused. Victoria Caroline Hamilton, or Tori for short, is my younger sister. Yeah, you read that right, _younger_. And yet she's constantly surpassing me in something, she's the top student at our school (an elite private school at that too), is student council vice president, and is a teacher's assistant for half of the teachers in our grade. I, on the other hand, live in her shadow in all but one thing: sports. I'm one of the best sports players at our school and it's the only thing I'm good at compared to her.

As you can tell, we don't get along very well.

Then there's our mother, Anne Hamilton. Before you ask, our father left when we were kids. Yeah, kind of a dumbass move, but I really couldn't care less. I remember nothing about him, so I can't give any details. But our mom is a bit . . . flighty. She can space out for no apparent reason sometimes and miss out an entire chunk of a conversation. But, we love her regardless and she's the best cook in the house. Which isn't saying much since neither Tori nor I can cook. Hell, we can burn _water_ for God's sake.

And finally, we have my older brother Will, short for William, as I have mentioned before. He's our supportive older brother who is also really immature sometimes. He managed to get into a good college out of state and he's pretty smart. But he's also a HUGE video game nerd. I probably shouldn't talk since he's the reason I got into video games in the first place. I blame him for completely destroying my eyesight to the point where I have to wear either glasses or contacts 24/7. I chose the latter since I have a reputation to uphold.

We all live as one big happy family in the lovely, peaceful city of Brooklyn, New York. Note the sarcasm. We aren't a dysfunctional family, I'll tell you that, but we aren't exactly all smiles and rainbows either. As I said before, Tori and I get along just about as well as ice and fire. When I say that, I mean we argue a LOT. Even over the smallest of things like who gets the last slice of pizza or something. Not to mention, our personalities clash constantly, so you can see how there's never a dull moment in our house.

Anyway, back on the story, we drove to the airport in silence and then waited for Will. It really shouldn't be too hard to spot a six foot tall twenty one year old with blue hair. Yes, he has blue hair, but he dyes it, so don't worry. He wasn't born with a weird pigment in his hair or whatever. At his graduation, Will dyed his hair pink and ever since it's been a regular thing whenever a semester ends, he dyes it a crazy color. In case you wanted to know, his natural hair color is dark brown, which is odd to say the least since I have bright Weasley red hair, Tori has inky black hair, and our mom is a blonde.

I had a conspiracy theory that we were all adopted from an orphanage when we were babies, but that theory was thrown out the window when Tori pointed it out that we all had the exact same eye color. So I came up with a new theory that the government did some weird testing on our DNA before we were born causing us to have different hair colors.

I'm still sticking to that theory!

After God-knows how long, a stranger appeared next to me and said in a really deep and scary voice, "Do you want some candy, child?" I nearly jumped ten feet in the air when he did that. I turned and saw a young man with dark brown hair and wearing a gray pinstripe suit and a backpack and having a roller suitcase on hand. It took me a minute to figure out who it was.

"Will!" I cried. I didn't waste any time tackling him to the floor in a huge hug. That's when I asked, "Why are you wearing a suit? And why don't you have weird hair this time?"

"That's because I have a surprise for you. Now, um, can you get off?"

"Oh, right." I got off of him and helped him up. And then it was my mom's turn to give him a bone-crushing hug.

Once my mother was done crushing Will's spine and ribs, Tori smiled and hugged him more gently knowing he was probably extremely bruised. When she was done hugging him, my mom started fussing over Will, asking him all sorts of questions, making sure he was doing well, if he was eating right, if he was doing drugs, etc. She kept going all the way back home.

When we got home, mom ran to the kitchen to start cooking dinner, leaving us three siblings alone in the living room. Will and I glanced at each other and started wrestling. Tori rolled her eyes, but was still the referee. Usually when Will and I want something and it happens to be the exact same thing, we wrestle over it. Tori eventually became our unofficial ref.

My mom came out just as I had pinned down Will with my leg and was tugging on his arm.

"One. Two. Three. Ding, ding, ding. We have a winner," Tori said in monotone.

"What were you two wrestling over this time?" my mom asked.

"The couch," Will and I said in unison.

"And I won!" I cried victoriously. Without skipping a beat, I jumped onto the couch.

Will glared in response, but sat on the floor regardless and turned on the TV. I grabbed a controller and we started playing Kingdom Hearts Birth By Sleep in the Mirage Arena. I was playing as Ven and he was up against me as Terra. Good thing too because when he was playing as Aqua last time, instead of playing, he just stared at her character model, practically drooling. How hopeless can he get?

My mom brought us a bowl of popcorn to munch on and said something about getting cake after dinner. We waved her off and continued playing for another half an hour until he beat me. My real world response was to punch him in the arm, which I did. He just laughed in response.

"Oh, hey? Did you hear about that new, free online game called the Program?" he asked. Tori and I shook our heads. "It's been around for a year in Japan, Korea, New Zealand, and several European countries, but it wasn't released in North America until a couple weeks ago."

"Really? Sounds interesting. Think you can help me download it?" I said. I forgot to mention, besides being a weirdo and a pervert, Will is also a computer genius, which is how he got into such a good college out of state.

"Sure, but after dinner. I've missed out on six months of Mom's cooking!" Will said. I shoved him onto the floor with my foot.

"Get real, I bet you've been having gourmet meals and fancy food this whole time," I said.

"Get your foot off my face! Your socks smell degusting!"

I rolled my eyes, but took my foot off his face nonetheless. He got up and coughed, "Peeeww! You're gonna kill me with your dirty laundry one of these days."

I grinned. While we ate dinner, I asked Will, "So what's this surprise you mentioned earlier?"

He smirked and took off his jacket and then his shirt and turned around. My mom and Tori gasped in shock, I just stared in awe. He got Oathkeeper and Oblivion crossed together in the shape of an X as a tattoo just under his neck. I grinned.

"Sweet tattoo," I said.

"Thanks, I got it last month," Will replied as he put his shirt back on.

"What were you thinking?! That's inked into your back forever, you know!" Tori cried.

"I know. That's why I got it in the first place."

"Buuuuuurn," I commented.

"Shut up, Liz!" Tori yelled at me.

"Well, your twenty one now, so I suppose you can do these things if you wanted . . . just please tell me before you do, Will. You know how easily worried I can get," Mom said.

"Mom!" Tori shouted.

"I will, mom. Don't worry," Will said.

"Well, now that that's settled, let's have cake!" Mom smiled. Will and I cheered and Tori sat down, fuming, knowing that she was wrong.

The minute we were done eating cake, Will and I bolted upstairs to my room. He showed me the website where I can download it from. It didn't take long to download the Program and pretty soon I was able to start playing. But before I could, there was a gigantic explanation.

* * *

_The Program is a game system designed to allow anyone to enter a fictional universe and either play as one of the characters or design your own character to play through the story._

_Rules:_

_Rule 1: You can only make one character at a time._

_Rule 2: You cannot create two save files at once. You must finish the first save file in order to create a second._

_Rule 3: You cannot create a crossover between two fictional worlds._

_So, welcome to the game_

* * *

I looked at Will, "Is that it?"

"Pretty much, yeah," Will said.

I clicked a few buttons and created a save file for Kingdom Hearts Birth by Sleep, one of my personal favorite Kingdom Hearts games. I love Kingdom Hearts, though I have more of a passion for Legend of Zelda. I was going to make a save file for Twilight Princess, but Will convinced me otherwise. I was too lazy to make my own character, so I decided to play as Ven. I knew the story like the back of my hand, but the story was different from the original. A prime example: there was more cussing. I'm not complaining, I cuss like a sailor all the time, but this is a rated E10+, right?

But, I didn't take too much notice at the time. After a few more hours, everyone else went to bed, except for me. I kept going until I felt my eyelids drooping and I fell asleep at my desk.

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**A/N: And that is the beginning. Short chapter, I know, but it's only the beginning! Tune in next time! Oh, and remember: Reviews=Updates. Hoping to get at least five reviews!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer: I don't own Kingdom Hearts. If I did, instead of working on Final Fantasy I-don't-even-know-what-number, I'd have all the workers be working on Kingdom Hearts III. I also do not own the Destiny Keeper, Anna, or Lunar. That concept as well as those two OC's belong to Crystalmaiden62 (check out her stories, they're awesome!)**

**A/N: Glad I got positive feedback! Fun fact, I have a deviantArt account! The link is at the bottom of my profile page. You can find artwork of the Hamilton siblings as well as their profiles (coming soon). I hope you enjoy my (crappy) art!**

**Sorry this took me so long to get out there. I was busy for a while with finals and such, but now I'm on summer vacation, so hopefully I'll be able to update more often.**

**Remember, flames will be used to roast marshmallows and make s'mores.**

**REVIEW!**

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Chapter 2

Not-so-Destined for Great Things

Liz's POV

I knew I was destined for trouble when I figured out how to use a lighter when I was fifteen months old and nearly set the house on fire. But this was just WAY too much.

When I woke up, I was in my bed. I knew something was wrong because, unless I sleep-walked to my bed or Will carried me in the middle of the night, I was supposed to be hunched over at my desk. Well, the neck and back pain was still there as well as my eyes from sleeping with my contacts on again. Since I was still half asleep, I didn't notice anything different as I wandered in a zombie-like state to the bathroom. I went an entire _fifteen minutes_ of brushing my teeth and washing my face without realizing something was severely wrong.

Yeah, I'm slow. Leave me alone.

I wiped the water from my eyes and opened them, but instead of seeing the usual blurred blob of my face when I haven't put on my contacts or just left them in overnight, I saw blonde hair sticking up in a way that defies gravity and the bluest eyes I can only see on a Kingdom Hearts character.

I ran out the door and looked down the halls. My house doesn't have this many halls. And it's not this big. And I am most certainly NOT a boy! And I am _definitely_ sure that I'm not Ventus from Kingdom Hearts Birth By Sleep!

I did the only sensible thing. I fainted.

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Ven's POV

I woke up hunched over at my desk with a major pain in my neck, back, and eyes. Weird, I remember going to my bed. I peeled open my eyes and blinked a few times until I realized I was wearing contact lenses. That's when I knew something was severely wrong. I got up and ran into the nearest bathroom. When I looked in the mirror, my mouth dropped. This HAD to be a dream. It could not be possible because I was in the body of a _girl_.

Or at least, I think it was the body of a girl because my vision was wrecked beyond belief for some reason.

"Liz? Are you okay?" someone said.

I turned and saw a black and blue blur, but from the voice I could tell the person was a girl. When I didn't say anything to reply her question, her eyes widened and she ran off yelling, "Will!"

A couple minutes later, she came back with another blur. From what I could tell, either the blur was an extremely tall woman or a guy around Terra's age. I assumed it was the latter. He observed me, or more specifically the body I inhabited, and then glared at me.

"Okay, who are you and what did you do to my baby sister?" he asked. The voice confirmed the person was a guy.

"I-I-I have no idea what you're talking about," I stuttered.

"You are definitely not my sister. Never in my life have I heard her stutter."

"I don't know what happened. One day, I'm training with my two best friends and the next, I'm in a random girl's body and a place I don't know!" I cried, on the verge of a panic attack.

"What? Will, this has to be a stupid joke. She cannot possibly be serious," the girl said. I bit the inside of my cheek to keep myself from crying, but it didn't work because my eyes were already really dry from the contact lenses.

The boy looked to me and said, "Open your eyes for me."

I did so and he examined my eyes quickly and then took something from the inside of the mirror and dropped it in my eyes. I'm pretty sure it was eye drops since it relieved some of the pain. Then he took out the contacts and handed me a pair of glasses, which I put on without hesitation.

"Better?" he asked. I nodded. He turned to the girl and said, "I think she's telling the truth."

"And you're not freaking out about this, _why_?!" the girl cried. The boy shushed her and then continued in a hushed voice.

"First of all, keep your voice down so that we don't freak out _Mom_. You know how worried she gets. Second, I am freaking out. I'm just trying not to show it."

I cleared my throat. The two looked at me. "Um, are you going to help me?" I asked.

"We will, but first, can you tell us your name?" the boy said.

"I'm Ventus, but my friends call me Ven."

The boy looked like he was going to start hyperventilating when I said that. "Come with me," he said. I didn't get a chance to respond when he grabbed my wrist and dragged me down the hall and into the room I was in previously with the girl tailing behind us.

"Um, what are your names? I don't really want to address you two as 'boy' and 'girl' all the time," I said a bit shyly, I admit.

"My name is Victoria Hamilton, but everyone seems to just call me Tori," the black haired girl said with her chin held up high, showing her pride. She gestured to the boy at the computer, "This is my older brother, William, though he insists on everyone calling him Will. While I find it nearly impossible to believe your story, you seem to be honest enough, so I suppose I'll trust you. For now."

I nodded meekly. The girl reminded me of a war general. She looked like the kind of person who, if you cross her, can possibly kill you in your sleep. I knew immediately not to get on her bad side or I wouldn't survive long enough to see my friends again.

And then Will let out a curse and banged his head on the desk in frustration, snapping me out of my thoughts.

"What happened?" I asked.

"This is so unbelievable . . . and yet, it's still possible considering . . ." Will muttered, probably not meaning to say it out loud.

"Well, spit it out!" Tori yelled.

He turned and looked to us with a grim look and I knew whatever was going to come out of his mouth wasn't going to be good.

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Liz's POV

"Ven! Ven, are you okay?" a voice said.

"Tori, shut up," I mumbled as a response.

"Ventus!" Okay, that voice sounded eerily familiar. I blinked open my eyes and saw the familiar brown haired young man from the Birth By Sleep game.

Then I remembered what position I was in. I looked down at my body and saw a male physique and realized that it wasn't a dream and I was actually in Ven's body. In the Land of Departure. With Terra a foot away from me. Needless to say, it was awkward.

"Are you okay?" he asked.

I had to calm down and not freak out or else things would be very bad. I'm not sure on what Terra's reaction to a girl in his best friend's body. Or Aqua's for that matter. There was only one person I could actually talk to about it and that was Master Eraqus since he might know what's going on. Or Yen Sid, but I prefer talking to one person within the same world and not have to travel through the worlds to talk to the other.

I forced a smile and said, "Yeah, I'm fine. I was walking in when I bumped my head on the doorframe and passed out." I prayed he would buy it. That was one of my worst lies yet.

Luckily, he did, "Well, you should be more careful next time."

He held out his hand and helped me up. "Thanks," I said.

I let him into the bathroom and began walking off calmly, passed by Aqua and said hi in a Sora-like, cheerful way (that almost made me want to gag), and then bolted as fast as possible to find Master Eraqus. It took me a while, but I managed to find him in the kitchen, sitting at the table, sipping what I could only assume was coffee, and reading a book.

"Ah, Ventus. Come in, come in," he said.

I did so and said, "Master, I have something to tell you."

"Yes, what is it?"

"Um . . . ImnotVentusIsomehowendedupinhisbodyandIneedhelpfin dingoutwhy!"

". . . I'm sorry, Ventus, could you repeat that? I couldn't catch that."

I sighed and responded slowly, "I'm not Ventus. I somehow ended up in his body and I need help finding out how and why."

He blinked. I started chewing on my nails without even noticing. It's a nervous habit. That's when he seemed to realize what was going on and composed himself.

"I see. You do seem to have a different air around you," he said.

"What are you talking about?" I asked.

"Ventus is much more restricted and shyer than you are. You are bold and confident."

"Um . . . thanks . . . I think. So, can you tell me what's going on and how I got here?"

He got up from his seat and said, "Follow me."

I followed him to the . . . what is it, the throne room or something? You know, the place where Terra and Aqua had (or in this case, will have) their Mark of Mastery exam? I don't know what it's called, so I'll just call it the throne room.

Anyway, Master Eraqus led me to the throne room and behind the throne. He summoned his keyblade and a keyhole appeared on the wall, but it wasn't the same as the one used to seal the Land of Departure. For one, that keyhole is behind the chair, not on the wall. Second, this keyhole was smaller and didn't have that kind of glow. A minute later, a door appeared on the wall. I didn't question the magic of the keyblade. He opened the door and gestured for me to go inside, which I did. Once he entered, he closed the door and I could tell the door either disappeared or just went invisible.

There were bookshelves all over the place, nearly touching the, quite frankly, high ceiling. Each bookshelf was filled to the brim with books, but not just ordinary books. These books moved and shifted constantly, going from one shelf to another, getting put back from carts that also moved on their own, flipped themselves open and then closed themselves again and put themselves back in the shelves, so on and so forth. The mysteries of the Land of Departure never cease to amaze me.

Another thing about the library (at least I think it's a library, either that or it's a _huge_ room to put a desk in) was that it was a freaking maze. Everywhere you turned, there was either another place to turn or a bookshelf like a dead end. Luckily, Eraqus seemed to know where everything was and led me through the labyrinth of a library.

"I don't remember this being in the game," I muttered. A little louder so Eraqus could hear me, I said, "So, what is this place?"

"This is the library. Here, my students may study to further their knowledge and spiritual training," Master Eraqus explained.

"Wait, there's spiritual training needed for a keyblade?"

"Of course. One cannot simply summon a keyblade, cast a few spells, and charge headfirst into battle."

Actually, that was my method of playing in the games when I wasn't using a guide, but I didn't say that out loud.

He continued leading me through the maze until we reached what I assumed was the center. There was a huge, glowing orb sitting on a pedestal. It was glowing brightly and reacted when we entered the area.

"Is that . . . ?" I asked.

"Yes, the Cornerstone of Light," Eraqus said.

"But I thought there was only one and that's in Disney Castle."

"There are a handful of worlds with a Cornerstone within the core of the world, and this is one of them. It protects us from darkness and fuels this world with light."

I didn't respond. I was too shocked to say anything.

Everything I knew, or thought I knew, about the game was just changing before my eyes. It was awesome, but weird at the same time. I can't really explain the feeling very well.

Before I could say anything, the sphere glowed and a holographic projection appeared in front of the two of us. I didn't know what exactly it was. It looked like a battle scene like from a movie, only in a desert area. With keyblades everywhere implanted into the ground. And armored figures battling each other.

Oh.

Right, Keyblade War.

When the battle was over, a mysterious figure wearing armor stood beneath the light of Kingdom Hearts. A beam of light from the Kingdom Hearts moon hit the figure and a mysterious voice said, "You have been chosen to complete my task. Use my light wisely."

The image faded and showed a teenage boy, probably my age, with black hair holding a moon-like keyblade. He was battling a bunch of Heartless with a purple-haired girl. I raised an eyebrow at that, but before I could ask questions, the image faded to two different girls. One of them had shoulder length brown hair and the other was wearing a yellow dress and had . . . green hair.

I didn't question it.

The brunette was holding the same keyblade the boy from before was holding. The green haired girl was holding a . . . pink and red keyblade . . . with a heart indent in the teeth . . . that was the point in time where I said, "What the fudge?"

Well, I said a different word besides _fudge_, but you get the idea.

The projection then faded away and Eraqus began speaking again, "I have good reason to believe that you might be who I have been waiting for."

"And that would be?" I asked.

"The Destiny Keeper."

. . .

. . .

. . .

"I'm sorry . . . _what_?!"

"The Destiny Keeper is the keeper of fate, the one person who knows the future events without the aid of magic. They guard the destinies of each person in this realm and hold the very light of Kingdom Hearts within themselves, putting their hearts upon the same ranking of that of a Princess of Heart," he explained.

I could only stare at him until I blinked and responded, "Okay, gramps, I don't know _what_ your smoking, but you've got the wrong person. I'm not a guardian or whatever, this is just a huge mistake."

"How else did you enter in this world?"

I opened my mouth to respond, but I really couldn't respond to that, so I just said, "Well, do you have any proof of me being the destiny whatever?"

"The Lunar Wish keyblade."

That was the breaking point for me and I started snickering like crazy. I'm sorry, it was just a really ridiculous name! At least, it sounded that way to me. Eraqus looked at me and asked, "Is something the matter?"

"Oh, nothing's wrong," I managed to say between snickers.

"Anyway, the Lunar Wish keyblade—"

I couldn't hold back snickers, so I just burst into full blown laughter that I'm almost positive could be heard echoing throughout the library.

"Is there a problem?" Eraqus asked with ice coating each word. I stopped laughing, remembering that the old geezer standing next to me was a keyblade master and could whoop my ass into the next century if he wanted to, regardless of whether I was in Ven's body or not.

I cleared my throat and said, "Not anymore, sir."

"Good. Now, can you summon Lunar Wish?"

I held out my hand, closed my eyes, and breathed a bit. Will always said that summoning a keyblade can't have anything to do with concentration and the characters must just let the energy flow or something like that. I didn't try to concentrate or even try to summon a keyblade, I just stayed relaxed. A few seconds later, I felt a weight in my hand and I opened my eyes.

Instead of holding the moon-themed keyblade from the hologram, Wayward Wind was there. I wasn't surprised considering the fact that I'm in Ven's body. I dismissed the keyblade and turned back to Master Eraqus.

"Yeah, no good," I said.

"I see . . . then that brings up the issue on how you came into this world through Ventus's body . . ." he responded.

"That's the million dollar question . . ."

* * *

Ven's POV

"Will? What are you trying to say? My sister is in the _computer_?!" Tori cried.

"Not in the computer necessarily, but in the game," Will said.

"So let me get this straight: you think, somehow, Liz and Ven switched bodies after Liz made an account on that new game you were talking about and the evidence supporting that is the fact that kids in different parts of the world where the game was already released have been reported either missing or have gone insane after making an account?"

"That's the gist of it."

Tori just stared at her brother. I didn't blame her, the idea sounded just as crazy to me as it probably did to her.

"That's it! My family is completely insane! Either that or I'M going nuts!" she cried. "I mean, what your saying is completely illogical and impossible! This simply does not happen! How on earth can a character from a video game switch bodies with someone in the _real_ world?!"

"Tori!" Will yelled, causing her to stop where she was. "I know it sounds completely insane, but it's the only theory we have right now! Unless Liz somehow developed multiple-personality-disorder overnight and thinks she's a fictional character from a video game, this is the only explanation we have!"

"So how do we get ourselves back to normal?" I asked.

"I have no idea." He turned back to the screen and sighed.

I leaned on the desk as Tori was scanning the screen with her eyes and chewing on her nails. I glanced at the screen and noticed something blinking in the corner.

"What's that?" I asked, pointing to the blinking icon.

"Huh?" Will asked. He looked at the icon and gave a confused look. "That wasn't there yesterday."

"Well, click on it!" Tori said.

"I am! I am!" He did so and a message popped up.

* * *

_News Feed: Multi-player mode now allowed! Enjoy._

* * *

"How convenient," Will said, suspicion laced in his voice. He pulled up a new tab and went on a website called Google and tried to look up the creator of the Program.

"What? What's going on?" Tori asked.

"There's a multi-player mode activated now, so we can go in and try to find Liz. But I'm wondering why it just came out today . . ."

"Pure coincidence?" I suggested, though I wasn't even sure about it.

"Either way, we can get Liz, so let's get started!" Tori said, shaking Will.

"Easy, easy!" he cried as Tori stopped shaking him. "God, never saw this side of you, Tori."

"That's not the point, let's go, let's go!"

"Okay, okay, calm down!"

I couldn't help but smile as I watched the two of them. They kind of reminded me of Terra and I. But that's when the smile fell from my face when I realized that I missed Terra, Aqua, and Master Eraqus more than I realized. It hadn't been very long since I was gone, but I was actually really scared I would never see them again.

"Hey, Ven."

I looked up and saw Will staring at me.

"Ready to get started in making our avatars?" he asked.

I cocked my head to the side and asked, "What's an avatar?"

He gave an evil grin and said, "Your about to find out."

* * *

**A/N: I don't know anything about contacts or glasses, so I had to do some research. I hope I nailed it down accurately enough. If I didn't, please let me know so that I can edit that. I want to make that accurate enough. And the reactions might not be that realistic, but I did the best I could.**

**And as I said, the Destiny Keeper belongs to Crystalmaiden62. ALSO! If you want to, you can use the Program for your story, BUT YOU HAVE TO CREDIT ME.**

**Just a note, I don't think _Lunar Wish_ is a silly name, I think it's really creative, but that's just part of Liz's personality.**

**And I had to add that last part. I couldn't just leave this on a depressing note. And I'm really sorry for no action and for disappearing off the face of the planet for the past few weeks. But I'm alive and hopefully I'll be able to bring out more chapters faster now.**

**Other than that, REVIEW!**


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Okay, this chapter is a filler chapter. I'm really sorry, I don't wanna pad it out any more than I already have, but I want to do a chapter dedicated to the character interactions between Liz, Aqua, Terra, and Eraqus, even though Aqua and Terra technically don't know Liz and Ven swapped bodies. And also, it contains a short plot point. So bear with me.**

**I also got the wake-up ideas from a YouTube video called "The Ultimate Wake Up PRANK Compilation". Go check out the video! It's cruel and hilarious.**

**Disclaimer: I only own my OC's and, drumroll please . . . . . . . THE PLOT 8D**

**Don't forget to REVIEW!**

* * *

Chapter 3

An Average Day

Liz's POV

It took me a while to get out of the funk. It took an entire week for me to stop worrying about everything and just go with the flow. I figured that if I didn't think about it too much then things would work themselves out, it usually works. Then again, Will and Tori are always accusing me of not thinking enough. So, I decided to just go along with whatever. Master Eraqus trained me with Aqua and Terra as if nothing was any different, though he did give me private lessons in the library after regular training. Though after I nearly blew up the library attempting a simple fire spell, we decided I shouldn't try my hand at magic again.

As for regular training . . . I'm currently on two sports teams at school, football and kickboxing. In the past I was in softball and soccer, both in which I'm horrible at in comparison to the other two. But all four sports have some pretty intense training and practice coming with them. Or maybe it's just the fact that our coach was completely _insane_.

All that training combined and multiplied by ten couldn't even _compare_ to the hell Master Eraqus put us through every. Single. Day.

In my normal body, I'm pretty fit considering my sports record, but in Ven's body, he's a pretty scrawny boy, so it made it hard to train. He's not as strong as my own body, but his attacks were more based on speed since his body was fast and had great stamina. Terra and Aqua were much better at training than me, but they didn't seem surprised that I was failing so badly since Ven was still a bit of a novice.

Though, when we trained with our keyblades, I got my ass whopped so many times. At least it's normal for Terra and Aqua for Ven to be crappy with a keyblade compared to them.

So, I guess I can explain in full detail if you really want to know how it all happened.

The day starts off with us waking up at the crack of dawn. Aqua and Master Eraqus are usually up by or before then, leaving Aqua to wake Terra and I up while the master got his morning coffee. She got pretty creative with her methods of being an alarm clock. She use lightning spells, ice spells, fire spells, one time Aqua even turned me into a tree and back just to wake me up. Needless to say, I learned pretty quickly to get up early.

Terra on the other hand was never so lucky. After getting used to the early morning routine, I was able to bear witness to Aqua's methods of waking up Terra. Let me just say this: I severely wished I had my phone camera just so that I could record it. Each time was different and damn it, they were all hilarious and somewhat cruel thinking about it, but you know what, I don't care.

This time, I put a small wooden table over his head. Aqua had a bull horn at the ready and once the two of us were at the doorway, so that Terra wouldn't kill us immediately, and we had our earplugs in, she pressed the button. He hit his head on the table pretty hard when he tried to sit up. When he saw us laughing our asses off, he pulled the table off and started to chase us.

"I'm going to kill you two!" the young man cried.

"You say that every morning, Terra, and we're still alive and well!" Aqua yelled back, still smiling.

"This will be the day then!"

"Yeah, right!" I shouted as Aqua and I ran.

He chased us around the castle for a bit until Aqua and I ran into the kitchen and hid behind Master Eraqus. He chuckled at our antics since, again, this happened every morning. Terra ran in, his face red with anger and a bump on his forehead that was slowly swelling up, until he saw the master. He bowed respectfully.

"Good morning, master," he said. Though he looked kind of silly in just a T-shirt and neon orange boxers. Yeah, you can see why I wanted my camera.

"Good morning, Terra," Eraqus said with a smile. "I see Aqua and Ventus woke you up again."

Aqua and I poked our heads out from behind the master and gave cheeky smiles. Terra settled with a glare and Aqua got started on cooking breakfast.

"Don't think I'm letting you two off the hook," Terra said.

"You say that every morning," I commented.

"Yes, but today will be different!"

"You said that yesterday. And the day before that. And they day before that!"

He glared at me and waved his fork threateningly, "Just you wait! Your dead when we start sparring."

"You wish!"

"Alright, that's enough you two," Aqua said, setting down our food and then sitting down next to Terra. "Eat first, kill each other later."

I didn't say anything since food was already in my mouth.

After we ate, Eraqus would take us outside and have us run around the entire castle seven times. Yes, SEVEN times, and you've seen how big the place is! After doing our "morning jog" as Eraqus likes to put it, we do forty push-ups and then we take a break to rest our already burning muscles.

I flopped on the grass and stared up at the sky as Aqua poked my cheek playfully.

"What are you doing, Ven?" she asked.

"Resting," I replied simply.

Terra walked over and sat down next to me and sighed, "Ven's got the right idea. I'm beat."

"Aww, come on, guys. It wasn't that bad," Aqua said with a forced smile. Terra and I gave her a look and the smile fell from her face as she collapsed to the ground with us. "Yeah, it was that bad."

We laughed and stared at the sky, trying to find patterns in the clouds. After about twenty minutes, Eraqus called us back where we'd start sparring. Sparring usually took up the rest of the day, but sometimes Eraqus would see improvement and let us off early so that we could hang out in the library and just talk.

Today on the other hand, Terra was determined to keep his promise of whooping my ass while we were sparring though. The end result was my near death by keyblade. That would be an embarrassing tombstone:

_RIP Liz Hamilton_

_Died when sparring with a video game character while in the body of another video game character_

Aside from Terra's bloodlust and Aqua laughing as I nearly died, we had a good day. Admittedly, Terra and Aqua felt more like my siblings than my actual siblings. Well, technically Tori, but still . . . Is that a sign of a bad relationship with your family? I mean, I love them and all, but after Tori and I got to middle school, we just kind of fell apart.

But being with Terra, Aqua, and Master Eraqus reminded me of the good days with my siblings and my mom, back before Tori became a perfectionist, Will left for college, and my mom nearly died (long story). It really did feel like a family to me, but I knew it couldn't last, which is what saddened me the most, the reality that I had to go back.

* * *

A couple weeks after I swapped bodies with Ven, I managed to find something in the library on body swapping. I was doing my usual studies (and when I say studies I mean completely ignoring my work and just goofing around) when I came across a book. Well, I can't exactly call it a book, it was more like a journal than anything and it looked like it was shoved in carelessly, but regardless, I took it off the shelf and sat down on the ground, leaning against the other shelf.

The name of the owner was written in the front, but the name was scribbled out beyond deciphering. Either way, I read through. The entries were all interesting. Most of them were talking about experiments on the heart, what makes a heart, tons of equations I'm sure Will would have a field day solving, etc. There were no dates, so I couldn't figure out when the entries were written, but the paper and ink were a little faded, so I could assume at the very least that the journal was pretty old. If I didn't know any better, I would have whole-hearted assumed this was Xehanort or Ansem's reports, but Ansem's wouldn't have been written until much later in the future and Xehanort's was probably already scattered.

I didn't have enough time to read the journal in detail, so I skimmed through most of it. But when I got to what was supposed to be the last ten or so pages, they were all torn out. It could have been Xehanort's journal, he tore out the pages, and scattered them like in the game where the player had to collect all the reports. But that didn't make a lot of sense since in the game they were only required to unlock the Final Episode, which isn't much, and each report was a record of Xehanort's life as well as key elements to figuring out his backstory as well as his plan.

This journal wasn't talking about events that occurred in Xehanort's life, they were notes. And the pages torn out must have been really important pieces to them.

"Ven! It's time for dinner!" Aqua called. I didn't even notice she had come in.

"Okay, hang on!" I yelled back. I hid the journal in my pocket and ran to the door.

"What were you doing?" she asked.

"Just reading," I replied. "Come on, let's get going. I'm starving.

* * *

**Monkey: Well, that wasn't so bad, now was it? (dodges rotten fruit thrown by angry readers) Okay, so it's a LITTLE short—(dodges more angry rotten fruit) Okay, fine! It's really short! But it's not bad!**

**Nico: I guess it could have been worse.**

**Monkey: What are you doing here? Aren't you supposed to be in the Percy Jackson and the Olympians fandom running away from fangirls?**

**Nico: Yes. So I decided to hide out in this fandom with you.**

**Monkey: Why me?**

**Nico: Because you're the only one who's stupid enough not to kick out some guy with a sword. As far as I know at least.**

**Monkey: True . . . wait . . . HEY! (sighs) Well, if you're going to stay, at least work for it. My muse fell into the River Styx a while back, so I've been lacking in comic relief in the Author's Notes, so I've had to resort to the regular, boring ones. Now that you're here (evil grin)**

**Nico: O.O**

**Monkey: (looks to the readers) Review or the son of Hades becomes my new torture dummy (evil laugh)**

**(lightning strikes in the background as Monkey continues to laugh evilly/insanely)**


	4. Chapter 4

**Monkey: Sorry I've been gone for so long! (dodges the weapons thrown at her) I can tell you've been anxious. But, finally! The actual story starts rolling here!**

**Nico: About time.**

**Monkey: Oh, shut up. Now do the disclaimer!**

**Nico: (sighs) Monkey does not own Kingdom Hearts. She only owns her OC's, the Program, and somewhat of the plot.**

**Monkey: Good. Hope you enjoy! Flames will be used to roast marshmallows!**

* * *

Chapter 4

The Adventure Kind of Begins

Liz's POV

So, after weeks and weeks of training, it was the night before the Mark of Mastery exam. I knew Aqua and Terra would come out, so I was sitting by the edge of the World, staring at the stars. I was never much of a stargazer in the past, but that was mostly because you can't see the stars very clearly in Brooklyn. After a while, I ended up falling asleep by accident. When I woke up, I sat up, realizing it was pretty late, but when I leaned back, Aqua was standing there, staring me down.

"Gah!" I cried as I shoot back up. Aqua chuckled as I turned around to face her. "Give me a break, Aqua."

"Ven, you hopeless sleepyhead. You know, you should have at least brought a blanket," she said with a playful smile. I rolled my eyes and she chuckled.

She sat down next to me and we stared at the sky for a few solid minutes as I thought about something: should I tell Terra and Aqua about the whole body-switch thing? I mean, I've been lying to them for the past few weeks and it made me feel really bad, which doesn't happen often. I'm known for lying, but I've gotten to know these people, so keeping up a lie to them just makes me feel really guilty.

"Hey, Aqua?" I asked.

"Yeah?" she replied.

"I have something I need to tell you. It's kind of important."

A concerned look crossed her face, "What is it, Ven?"

I opened my mouth to explain when Terra walked over with a small smile and said, "Hey, guys."

"Hey, Terra," Aqua replied. She turned to me. "So, what were you going to tell me?"

I thought about it for a minute. If I told them now, it would probably just stress them out worrying over Ven. Will and Tori did that in the past, so it could very well happen to Terra and Aqua especially since tomorrow is their Mark of Mastery exam. I couldn't do that to them.

"It's nothing, really," I said.

She raised an eyebrow, "You sure?"

I nodded. Terra gave a confused look, but sat down next to Aqua anyway. Did I forget to mention the incredibly annoying cock tease that is Terra and Aqua? Yeah, they obviously like each other, but for reasons that I honestly don't know, they won't get together. It's annoying as fudge just to watch them obviously look at each other with a longing in their eyes and not kiss already. Can't they take a hint?!

Anyway, the three of us stared up at the stars for a while longer until Aqua stood up.

"Oh yeah, Terra," she said. "We have our Mark of Mastery exams tomorrow."

To be perfectly honest, I had completely forgotten about that too. Aqua pulled out the three Wayfinders from her pockets and grinned as she said, "I made us good luck charms."

She tossed the orange one to Terra and the green one to me. In the game, I never really thought about the charms. They didn't seem to have any real value in them at the time. But now, it wasn't a game anymore. This was their reality and the charm suddenly had a lot more weight to it than before. If I ever got my body back, I made a personal promise make sure to give Ventus the charm and the message behind it.

Aqua looked up at the stars with a glint in her eyes that, at the time, I couldn't identify. "Somewhere out there, there's this star-shaped fruit. And the fruit represents an unbreakable connection. So long as you and your friends carry good luck charms shaped like it, nothing can drive you apart. You will always find your way back to each other."

"Aren't you supposed to make these with seashells though?" I teased.

Aqua laughed, "Yes, but I did the best with what I had."

"Oi, sometimes you are such a girl," Terra commented.

"Hey, what's that supposed to mean?"

I cleared my throat, "If you're both done flirting, if you could just kiss and get it over with, that would save us a lot of time, thanks."

That shut them up. Oh, man, I wish I had my camera because the two of them were completely red in the face. I tried to hold back my laughter and cover it up with coughs, but after a minute, I failed and I ended up bursting into laughter. That just made their faces turn into a shade of red I didn't know existed. Now you can see why I wanted my camera.

Then Terra had me in a headlock. I flailed and called for Aqua to help, but she just watched, laughing. Eventually, Terra let me go and the three of us went back to our rooms to get some sleep. Lord knows, those two needed to get their rest.

If you want me to be cheesy then I'll say the famous line: that would be the last night we ever spent beneath the same stars.

Happy?

* * *

The next day was the day of the Mark of Mastery exam. To be honest, I was nervous for Aqua and Terra and I wasn't even participating! I knew what would happen and I didn't want Xehanort to screw everything up for these two, but at the same time that wouldn't get the plot rolling. I also felt bad because I chickened out and didn't tell them that Ven and I swapped bodies. And I very rarely chicken out unless I know there will be serious consequences.

So, there I was. Standing there, playing with the buttons on my vest and waiting for Eraqus to get everything started. From the corner of my eye I saw him get up and I straightened up. Terra and Aqua were already standing before the thrones (at least I assume they're thrones) as he walked towards them.

"Today you will be examined for the Mark of Mastery," he began. "Not one, but two of the keyblade's chosen stand here as candidates. But this is neither a competition nor a battle for supremacy. Not a test of wills, but a test of heart. Both of you may prevail or neither. But I am sure our guest, Master Xehanort, did not travel all this way to see our youngest prospects in years fall short of the Mark."

At the mention of his name, Xehanort looked at the two students standing before him, as if examining which one would make the better meal. He glanced at me and frowned slightly. For a moment, I thought he knew about me, but he soon turned back to Terra and Aqua. That didn't help the chill I felt running down my spine, but I tried to ignore it.

"I trust you are ready," Eraqus finished.

The two replied in unison, "Yes."

"Then let the examination begin." He lifted his keyblade and summoned five orbs of light. In my mind, this seemed way too simple to be a test to decide whether or not you'd be a Keyblade Master, but each test was different, so I didn't comment.

But, of course, Xehanort waved his hand and each of the orbs were surrounded by a black aura. I was the only one who saw because the others were so focused on the orbs, which began to move around, threatening to crash into something. I was also the only one who saw Xehanort smile evilly. It's like he has a giant, neon sign saying "I'M THE VILLAIN"

Terra and Aqua brought out their keyblades and began working to extinguish the orbs when one of them came flying at me. I faintly heard the two call out my name (technically Ven's name, but at the time I didn't really notice) but I was too focused on the object in question about to crash into me. I managed to summon the keyblade and swing at the orb, causing it to bounce away. That was the first thing that I noticed was a bit odd. I know in the actual game itself, it takes a few strikes to get the orbs to vanish, but in the cutscene, it disappeared. I figured it was probably because this wasn't a game anymore, it was real life, and I shook it off.

"Don't worry about me!" I called back. "You guys just focus on the exam."

"But, Ven, you're in danger here. Go wait in your room," Aqua responded. I resisted the urge to roll my eyes. She sounded like Will when I first talked about getting a motorcycle.

"No way! Ve—_I've_ been waiting for this moment, seeing you guys become masters. I'm not missing one minute of it!" I flinched at my mistake, but luckily no one noticed.

"He can take care of himself," Terra added. "He's been training out there as hard as we have."

Aqua sighed and got herself ready, "Stay sharp, Ven!"

The fight felt longer than it did in the game. Mostly because back at home when I play the game, I'm sitting on the couch, staring at the TV screen, and pressing a bunch of buttons. Whereas here, I'm actually fighting against an actual enemy. Granted, it's nothing serious yet, but it's still hard. I mean, kickboxing is hard, football is hard, soccer, and softball are hard, but battling against a legit enemy that could possibly do me some form of physical damage is extremely difficult.

Of course, I don't have the luxury of the rolling or jump buttons, so I can't jump heights that shouldn't be possible. So, when the orbs came flying, I had to duck or roll away to the point where I knew I'd develop bruises. I tried to hold the keyblade like Ven did, a backwards grip, but it would fumble out of my hands every time I did, so I just held it normally. Terra and Aqua were too focused on fighting themselves that they didn't take any notice.

I'm no gymnast, but doing this made me wish I was. It would have been so helpful if I could just backflip through the air to dodge. Unfortunately, I couldn't, so I had to duck out of the way and swing whenever it came at me. You wouldn't think fighting orbs would be hard, mostly because it's the first real battle of the game. Surprisingly, it was really, really tiring.

Once we managed to vanquish all of the orbs, we went back to our positions. I was sweating up a storm and I could tell Aqua and Terra were just as tired as I was, if not more because they had to put more effort into their fighting. Eraqus stepped forward.

"That was unexpected," he said. "But one must learn to keep a still heart even in the most trying of circumstances. It was an excellent test, one I chose to let unfold. Which brings us to your next trial."

I stood back against the wall as Aqua and Terra walked to the center of the room, Aqua being farthest away from the thrones. Both of them summoned their keyblades, awaiting their instructions I began to chew my nails subconsciously even though the fight hadn't started yet.

"Now, Terra and Aqua, the two of you will face each other in combat," Eraqus continued. "Remember, there are no winners — only truths, for when equal powers clash, their nature is revealed. Begin!"

The two charged at each other. Both tried to land hits, but the other would just block or hit back. The two of them trained together for years, so it only made sense that they'd know each other's strategies. Terra tried to make some heavy hits, but Aqua dodged all of them. She almost landed a hit, but Terra was able to avoid the attack. I already knew what would happen, but that didn't stop me from biting my nails down until they were nubs like I always do when I'm nervous.

And then, the darkness appeared in Terra's hand. He took notice and quickly suppressed it in time to block Aqua's next attack. As the sound of metal clashing with metal echoed throughout the throne room, I glanced at Xehanort and Eraqus. Both of them noticed Terra's momentary darkness and had different reactions. Eraqus looked sad, probably knowing Terra's fate if he continues to walk down this path. On the other hand, Xehanort smirked, his plan beginning to unravel.

I held back a glare. Honestly, I hate Xehanort. Don't get me wrong, he's a good villain and all, but that was back when I thought this was still a game. Now that it's become a reality, I realize that Xehanort's plan does have a chance of succeeding. In books and movies and stuff, obviously the hero would win, but now . . . who knows?

After the battle, Terra and Aqua stood before Eraqus and Xehanort.

"We have deliberated and reached a decision," he said. I bit my lip in nervousness, even though I knew the outcome. "Terra, Aqua, you both performed commendably. However, only Aqua has shown the Mark of Mastery."

Aqua let out a small gasp. I could see disappointment in Terra's eyes that was hidden by his serious look, but anyone could see right through it. Even Eraqus seemed upset at that. He did love those two, so I'm sure seeing just one of them fail at the exam must have felt horrible.

He looked back to Terra and continued, "Terra, you failed to keep the darkness within you sufficiently in check. But there is always next time. That is all." He looked to Aqua next. "Aqua, as our newest Keyblade Master, you are entitled to certain knowledge. Please wait here for further instruction."

With that, the two masters left, leaving the three of us in the throne room. I made a silent debate whether or not to help Aqua comfort Terra or follow Xehanort. In the end, I decided that Aqua can handle Terra by herself (and also, someone needs to make the first move) so I ran after Xehanort.

Not sure if he could hear me, but I managed to follow him and see Vanitas leaning on the wall with his mask off. I'm not gonna lie, but for a split second I was caught off-guard. For a moment, barely half a second, Vanitas looked like Sora. Luckily, that moment went as fast as it came, so I could resume in hating him. Yeah, I hated him. Mostly because he's a bitch to fight, he is just way too fast! That's really the only reason, but as a gamer, it's a pretty legit reason!

I hid behind a nearby pillar and listened into their conversation.

"What do you make of Ventus?" Xehanort asked.

Vanitas scoffed, "He ain't gonna cut it. Somebody's gotta break that loser in."

I had to resist the urge to punch him in the face right then and there. I managed to do so by counting down from ten and letting out a string of mental curses against him. It's actually somewhat helpful to mentally curse someone when you're trying not to kill them.

"Not here you won't. I have to keep up appearances," Xehanort said. I almost wanted to say, _who are you fooling?_

Vanitas put his mask back on, "I know that. He just needs a little incentive to leave home."

"It's not just that."

Both Vanitas and I froze at that. I bit my lip to try and keep silent.

"What are you talking about?" Vanitas asked.

"Something is strange about the boy," Xehanort explained. "The last time I saw him, he was distant and empty. Even though his heart has been restored by some _miracle_, this time he was not the same. He did not have the same . . . shyness as before. He seemed much more confident, almost like he was not truly himself."

_Crap!_ I thought. He was closer to the truth than I realized.

Vanitas seemed to think the idea was completely stupid because he said, "C'mon. He's probably finally grown a pair. Maybe this won't be as bad as I thought."

I bit my lip so hard I could taste the iron from my blood, only not out of nervousness, but out of anger. I have a short temper, so it was hard not to lash out at him right then and there.

"There is something else, but it would be best not to dwell on it," Xehanort said. "For now, you know what to do."

"Of course," the little bastard said. I could practically feel his smirk.

The two of them went their separate ways and once I was sure they were gone, I ran back to the throne room to check on Aqua and Terra. They were talking about something, but I was too far away to tell what they were saying. Normally, I'd eavesdrop on their conversation, but I couldn't hear a thing so I walked over. I also felt kind of guilty for Terra's failure. I knew it was meant to be (even though that sounds really cheesy) but I still thought the big what if questions.

"Hey, where were you?" Aqua asked when I walked over.

"I had to get something," I replied. I looked to Terra. "I'm sorry . . ."

He gave a small smile and ruffled my hair and responded, "It's not your fault." Then he looked down and muttered to himself, "The darkness . . . where did it come from?"

After a couple of minutes, Terra walked off and Aqua took me back to my room. I flopped onto the bed and stared at the ceiling, counting the tiles. I was also waiting for Vanitas to show up so that I can give him a piece of my mind. Eventually, I got impatient and I got up and went to the door. Just as I was about to leave, I suddenly felt a dark presence enter the room.

"Better hurry, Ventus," he said. "Or you'll never see Terra again."

I turned and saw Vanitas, leaning against a table. I glared at him and responded, "You really think your taunts can stop me?"

"Oh, so the master was right. You are braver than before."

"Let's just say I'm a different person and leave it at that."

"Well, you might just go somewhere with that attitude. But, do you think you can save your friend? You may have changed, but Terra, he'll be a completely different person before you know it."

"I'm not gonna waste my time with you, so just crawl back to your master and don't bug me again. Or you'll be sorry."

He laughed like what I said was completely ridiculous. For Ven, yeah, it probably was, but I was not going to fall for his taunts. I was going to fight back with everything I had. When he stopped laughing, he looked to me and said, "That look. I've never seen that kind of fire in your eyes."

"I told you. I'm not the same as before. Now get out of here before I have to make you," I responded. Maybe it was the negative energy he was giving off that made me want to break his nose, but I was seriously getting close to just throwing him out the window.

"I'm so scared," he said sarcastically. He opened a dark portal and looked back to me and I swear, I could see his smug look behind that dark helmet. "Fine. But threatening me isn't going to get you anywhere. You'll never know the truth unless you go out there and look for it yourself."

"And what makes you think your any better?" I asked.

He didn't reply to that and I knew I hit a soft spot. But I did feel a wave of anger that was quickly suppressed. The two of us glared at each other for a good, solid minute until Vanitas decided he was bored and went into the dark portal. I sighed and looked around the room.

I grabbed a nearby bag and put a few things in it: a few potions, a set of matches (don't ask me where those came from), all the munny Ven saved up (which wasn't a lot), and most importantly, the journal. I didn't understand what it said, but I figured if I kept going on this journey, I would find out what exactly it said. After reading it several times, I figured out that it was encrypted. If there was anyone who could decipher it, it would be my brother.

I slung the bag over my shoulder and ran outside to see Terra on his keyblade rider, in his armor, and about to fly away. I tightened the straps on the bag and hit the armor on my shoulder. Unlike in the game where there's a glow and suddenly the armor appears, I could feel it expanding across my body until I was encased in armor. I looked down and saw that the armor wasn't the same color as in the game, it wasn't as bright. It was darker, more bronze and silver than anything. Kind of like in the Kingdom Hearts II secret ending.

Honestly, I preferred it this way. The armor in the game . . . well, to be blunt, it looked more like plastic than armor. At least with this version, I had a sense of protection.

I summoned my keyblade and threw it up into the air. Master Eraqus never got around to teaching me this technique, so I had to take a wild guess. By some form of incredible luck, the keyblade turned into something like a skateboard and I hopped on and flew off just as Aqua ran outside and called out to me.

I looked back and gave a small wave and flew off.

* * *

**Monkey: DONE! I have finished chapter 4!**

**Nico: About time.**

**Monkey: Shut up. (looks back to the readers) Hope you liked it! By the way, today's my birthday! Your reviews will be your birthday presents to me ^-^**

**Nico: (facepalm)**

**Monkey: On the other hand, I'm starting school in a couple days, so updates will probably go a little slow, but hopefully not as slow as before. Maybe, a chapter every couple of weeks to once a month at the latest. So, yeah, review!**


End file.
